A look at California’s big and beautiful trees

California is home to the largest, tallest and oldest trees that inhabit this planet. California has the largest number of individuals of the five conifer genera.

Let’s take a look at these magnificent specimens and where they grow. A juniper in Tuolumne County is the world’s largest juniper species at 78.7 feet. Juniperus grandis is in the cypress family.

The giant sequoia, Sequoiadendron giganteum, is 314 feet tall and grows in Sequoia National Forest. The coast redwood, Sequoia sempervirens, is the tallest tree at 380 feet. It grows in Redwood National Park.

The largest known sugar pine, Pinus lambertiana, grows in Calaveras Big Trees State Park. The largest known ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa var. pacifica, is found in Eldorado National Forest.

For more details, visit americanforests.org/champion-trees/champion-trees-registry.

— Katie Martin, UC Marin Master Gardeners